Wednesday, 17 December 2014

At the back
of some art cupboards in schools, there are intriguing yet daunting art
materials, which hardly ever see the light of day. These might include bottles
of Indian ink, printing paints and rollers, oil pastels and graphite sticks.

The Education
Team at the Botanic Garden runs a fantastic art CPD conference to boost primary
school teachers' confidence with working with an eclectic mix of unfamiliar art
materials in unique and adventurous ways, and of course, using plants for
inspiration. I was fortunate enough to attend the conference led by Emma
Williams, Primary Education Officer at the Garden who has a background in fine
art.

I joined
primary school teachers, some of whom were art coordinators in their respective
school, in exploring the Botanic Garden and its glasshouses for leaves, flowers
and fruits, which would make for exciting artworks. Plants are both intriguing
and beautiful, so it's not surprising that artists throughout history have
chosen to celebrate, adapt and distort for effect, their alluring colours,
textures and shapes.

Whilst in the
lily house, we were confronted with a vast array of plants made up of all
different shapes and sizes. We discussed that pupils engaging in art often find
it tricky to find a starting point when asked to carry out a drawing from
direct observation, especially if the choice can be overwhelming.

Exploring the lily house

Emma
described various techniques she employs with school groups, geared at
providing them with a sufficient amount of direction and guidance without being
too restrictive or imposing. One technique involves giving each pupil in the
group a sheet of paper with a printed shape at the top of it. The shape could
be a star, heart or raindrop; the pupil has to then sketch a leaf which shares that
shape. Another technique involves handing out a sheet of paper which has a
specific colour (not green to make for more unique and vibrant artworks!)
printed at the top of it; the pupil then has to sketch a leaf using predominantly
that colour.

Throughout
the conference, we got to grips with using oil pastels with coloured ink washes
to achieve a wonderful batik effect. We also learned how materials within the
school and classroom could be recycled to make textured printing blocks. One
teacher made an impressive multi-textured block comprising string, corrugated
cardboard and bubble wrap. We also etched images of plants into polystyrene
pizza bases, which when used, resulted in brilliantly crisp and detailed prints.

Print workshop with Emma

As well
making me want to rush back home to my neglected box of oil pastels, the
conference helped me appreciate how important it is for schools to have green
spaces so pupils can draw and study plants from direct observation. Seeing
plants close up and personal (as opposed to seeing them in 2D representations)
will help children to engage with them on a more tangible level as they are
prompted to use their sight, touch and smell to become fully acquainted. This
multisensory exploration has the power to encourage an interest and excitement
for plants which can then enable artistic creativity and experimentation to
flourish.

Tuesday, 16 December 2014

One of the main things I
wanted to get out of my traineeship was to become comfortable with
independently delivering schools sessions in a museum setting. Having the
confidence to deliver a session to a group of whatever age or size, out in the
gallery spaces is one of the most important attributes needed to be an
Education Officer – it’s the backbone of the job.

On my first placement, at
the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, I gained a reasonable amount
of primary school delivery experience through the project Making Museums.This was great practice in everything from
remembering session content to class management. However, as most of the taught
sections take place in designated education areas, it was still quite different
from teaching right in the middle of the galleries with lots of things going on
around me. Also, during Making Museums I was always team teaching whereas for
the Ashmolean schools sessions I was teaching independently and was also
responsible for the smooth running of my group’s day – greeting them and making
sure they were clear on the structure of the day and had everything they would
need.

The session I taught was
Life and Death in Ancient Egypt. This choice was made mainly because it is by
far the most popular primary session booked at the Ashmolean Museum which would
allow me plenty of time to observe it and also plenty of time to repeat deliver
it. Practice makes perfect which is why, before I had even taught my first
session, I was glad to be booked in to teach seven more! Beyond the
practicalities of the session I was pleased to get the chance to teach about
Ancient Egypt. Growing up I always wanted to be an archaeologist and this was
largely fueled by a passion for Ancient Egypt. My interest continued as I grew
up and learnt more, both during my Archaeology of Ancient Civilisations degree
and when I was lucky enough to visit Egypt and see some of the amazing sites
for myself. I feel so lucky to be working in a job where I get to be surrounded
by the very things which inspired me to choose the path I have taken – and to
be able to pass on this enthusiasm to a class of excited children is an amazing
feeling.

In preparation for the
session I observed 3 session leaders and the Project Co-ordinator teaching it. This
was great as watching such experienced deliverers meant I could pick up tricks
from them, but also seeing a range of styles meant I could pick up the bits of
content and the techniques that best suited me.

Aisling preparing for her session

There are lots of things to
think about when teaching out in the gallery - where to sit the children so
they’re not in the way of anyone, where to stand so that you can be seen and
heard by all and trying to project you voice above the general chat of the
public. I was glad I got to see some experts tackle these issues before I had a
go myself.

When it came to my first
session I felt a little bit nervous but ready to give it a go. The group was
great and I soon got into the swing of the session leading them through the
different parts including whole class teaching, group activities and object handling.
An hour and a half flew by and before I knew it we were done. I got good
feedback from the teacher and Neil my Project Coordinator. Though they gave me
some clear pointers I could improve on. The main things were my timing as I took
too long on some earlier parts and ended up having to rush through the last
section. Also my voice projection as the teacher commented it was sometimes a
little difficult to hear when there were other visitors talking nearby. Neil
gave me a good tip for improving this which is to try to talk straight at the
whole group instead of aiming my voice one way, for example, if answering a
question from a child who is sat at one side of the group. I was more conscious
of this in the following sessions I taught and, after Jo, Head of Education
came to watch parts of my third session, she told me that volume wasn’t an
issue in the bits she saw so hopefully this is something I have improved on.

Aisling in front of Taharqa's shrine

I really enjoyed teaching
the primary sessions and am looking forward to the ones I have coming up. It
feels satisfying to be able to confidently lead an hour and a half session on
my own and I look forward to using the skills and confidence it has given me in
my next placement and hopefully in a job after that.

Thursday, 11 December 2014

I have had the wonderful opportunity to be part of the
Arts Award project with SS Mary & John Primary School at the Museum of the History of Science. The project ran during the Autumn term of this year with
children and leaders from their after school Art Club.

Children began the term by considering their own
experience of the arts and mapping their responses visually.

The next week, the group visited the museum and were
given a short ‘highlights’ tour of some unusual objects on display. These
included the museum’s unique spherical astrolabe, the revolutionary clock,
amazing sundials, orreries and telescopes. The children interviewed a member of
the museum’s staff whose work includes planning and designing exhibitions and
publicity. There were lots of interesting questions such as:

What is the oldest object in the museum?

What is the best part of your job?

Did you always want to work in a museum?

What is the biggest object in the museum?

How far can you see through this telescope?

Do you have to be a scientist to work here?

During their time at the museum the children used digital
cameras to take photographs of fascinating and unusual objects on display which
appealed to them. They later used the images as inspiration for their own
artwork during the term.

Back at the weekly art club, the children each chose an
object which had inspired them. They discovered more about their chosen object
by researching it online, then made drawings. They also researched artists
which might have made work using this subject.Next, children began to construct 2D or 3D responses using a variety of
media including chicken wire, modelling clay, wood, metal wire, and papier
mâché.

Responses included:

- a
model of an anatomical theatre made from wood, inspired by stories about the
anatomical demonstrations which took place in the Museum’s old basement gallery

- a
version of the Museum’s lodestone which takes the form of a jellyfish instead
of a crown

- a
fully functioning camera obscura

- a
prosthetic hand inspired by armour and the brass prosthetic hand in the
basement of museum.

Prosthetic hand inspired by Museum of The History of Science

In December, we held a final presentation of the objects and
outcomes created by the children. Their artwork was displayed on the large oak
table in the basement gallery of the museum. Parents, carers, family members
and other visitors enjoyed seeing them and hearing the children explain how and
why they were made. The children also held a sharing assembly at school to describe
the project and their work to other children at SS Mary and John CE Primary
School.

Display of the children's creations at Museum of The History of Science

The sheer technique in their finished final pieces was
astonishing. They used a variety of techniques in their model making which was
really impressive to see. By placing their work in the museum, their creations
really did stand out and the display looked wonderful.

During the presentation event, I had handed out a sheet
which I designed to encourage feedback for the students. Adults and children
were asked to fill in a short sentence next to the children’s art work about
what they liked about it. This gave the children a great sense of achievement
and it also proved that they had shared their work when it came to the
assessments for the certificate.

Comments included:

3D
astrolabe

‘What
an inspired piece. Scholars in the past worked very hard to achieve this- and
you just did it!’

Mechanical
Hand

Excellent
glove- reminds me of a suit of armour, it really looks like metal.

‘Wonderful!
Scary! Does it work? I wonder who wore a hand like this?Looks really good’.

It was really useful to be able to put my Arts Award
training into practise again and being able to look closely at all of their
work was a very special privilege.

I was amazed by the student’s responses and the standard
of work produced all from being inspired by the collections at the museum. This
is sometimes a very tricky collection to make connections with as often the
objects are puzzling and complex but they overcame this so easily and ran with
their ideas confidently.

Students were able to explain their ideas coherently and
enthusiastically. One parent had commented on how brilliantly they could convey
the science behind their chosen object and the language they had used was very
advanced for their age. Literacy and language was quiet an unexpected outcome
of the project!

Parent at the presentation event

Parents were obviously very happy with the project from
their feedback:

‘This has been a fantastic project, the combination of
using scientific artefacts as a starting point the approaching the museum in an
art/ creative way was really nice. The children really got to know their
objects by re- creating them. They have ownership of them and a relationship
with them. They have all responded in completely different ways. Making it
yourself in 3D was great- in school you don’t get to do so much 3D work. Being
able to do it as a long term project with input from adults was really good.’

The plan now is to find a space for them in the museum to
go on display in their own mini exhibition to show case all their hard work and
I will look forward to coordinating this.

About Me

Oxford University Museums & Collections were awarded funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to provide training for 16 people interested in pursuing a career in museum education & outreach. So far 10 trainees have completed their training and have moved on to gain employment in the sector. Our final group of 6 trainees started their training in June 2014 and will finish in June 2015. During their time with us, trainees complete three placements in 3 of the following museums and collections: Ashmolean, Pitt Rivers, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Museum of the History of Science, Joint Museums Office, and the Botanic Garden & Harcourt Arboretum